Any indiginous people that eat big amount of fruits?

About a year ago I asked this question about the scientific evidence against eating a lot of fruit. Apparently there isn't any, which could mean there is no research done on this subject, or simply that eating lots of fruit is generally healthy.

Note that this does not mean that you need to eat a lot of fruit to be healthy. And please note that I'm aware that for individuals this could be different.

Evolutionary and ancestral reasoning about the same question can be useful. We know that many hunter gatherers or other ancient people ate/eat fruits. But do you know of people that eat really a lot of fruit? And how is their health? What can we learn from that?

i'm a little confused by what you're saying FED. I was going by this http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2647706 , which cites "mean fructose content of the American diet is 9%, with the upper range approaching 15 to 20%"

I'd like to add that in a USDA profile of US food consumption, it was stated that Americans consumer "32 teaspoons of added sugars per person per day" (usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf) which does not include sugar from fruit (fructose). This 134.4 grams of sugar (537.6 calories worth) plus fructose (the 55gms you mentioned) puts the total at 189gms of sugar/day. Compared to these statistics, the Kitvans' 61gms of sugar/day is less than a 1/3rd.

I'd like to add that in a USDA profile of US food consumption, it was stated that Americans consumed "32 teaspoons of added sugars per person per day" (usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf) which does not include fruit sugar (fructose). This 134.4 grams of sugar (537.6 calories worth) plus fructose (the 55gms you mentioned) puts the total at 189gms of sugar/day. Compared to these statistics, the Kitvans' 61gms of sugar/day is less than a 1/3rd.
For more Paleo hacks: http://paleohacks.com/questions/63255/any-indiginous-people-that-eat-big-amount-of-fruits#ixzz1XJTm3WYa

I'd like to add that in a USDA profile of US food consumption, it was stated that Americans consumer "32 teaspoons of added sugars
per person per day" (http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf) which does not include fruit sugar (fructose). This 134.4 grams of sugar (537.6 calories worth) plus fructose (the 55gms you mentioned) puts the total at 189gms of sugar/day. Compared to these statistics, the Kitvans' 61gms of sugar/day is less than a 1/3rd.

Kamal, I tried to stay away from PH, but I can't resist! Too strong, I say, is it, too strong! ;) Being on sites like these was new to me, and addictive. Before I only looked on pubmed, not that addictive...

@ULH, I read that Jared Diamond discovered the people on Easter island had a lot of tooth decay because they lacked fresh water and had to rely mostly on sugarcane juice for hydration... Compared to other Polynesian islands their animal intake was low because Easter island lacks coral reefs and lagoons. So low animal nutrients and high frequency sugar intake most likely led to increased cavities for Easter Island. Any other Polynesian cultures you know of that have high incidence of tooth decay?

Jared Diamond studied several Polynesian cultures and found that they had very high incidence of tooth decay (often considered a proxy for overall health), and also ate a lot of fruit and generally a high-carb, low-protein and low-fat diet.

3
Answers

Kitavans healthfully consume 11% of their diet as fruit (roughly 39 grams of sugar, depending on the fruit). 67% also comes from sweet potato, yam and taro. If 1/3 of their tuber intake consisted of sweet potato (this is speculation), then their total sugar intake would be roughly 61 grams sugar/day, or 12% of their total calories as sugar (~30.5 grams of fructose or ~6% total calories as fructose). For context, the mean American fructose intake is 55 grams or ~9% of total calories (although some segments of society consume more, reaching 15% to 20%).

Some animals eat large amounts of fruit, including Chimps, Bonobos, and even a 'maned wolf'. I think it'd be worth looking into what are the relevant digestive and metabolic differences between them and humans. If they're similar to humans, wouldn't that imply it'd be OK for humans to consume large amounts of fruit?

I'd like to add that in a USDA profile of US food consumption, it was stated that Americans consumed "32 teaspoons of added sugars per person per day" (usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf) which does not include fruit sugar (fructose). This 134.4 grams of sugar (537.6 calories worth) plus fructose (the 55gms you mentioned) puts the total at 189gms of sugar/day. Compared to these statistics, the Kitvans' 61gms of sugar/day is less than a 1/3rd.
For more Paleo hacks: http://paleohacks.com/questions/63255/any-indiginous-people-that-eat-big-amount-of-fruits#ixzz1XJTm3WYa

I'd like to add that in a USDA profile of US food consumption, it was stated that Americans consumer "32 teaspoons of added sugars per person per day" (usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf) which does not include sugar from fruit (fructose). This 134.4 grams of sugar (537.6 calories worth) plus fructose (the 55gms you mentioned) puts the total at 189gms of sugar/day. Compared to these statistics, the Kitvans' 61gms of sugar/day is less than a 1/3rd.

I'd like to add that in a USDA profile of US food consumption, it was stated that Americans consumer "32 teaspoons of added sugars
per person per day" (http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf) which does not include fruit sugar (fructose). This 134.4 grams of sugar (537.6 calories worth) plus fructose (the 55gms you mentioned) puts the total at 189gms of sugar/day. Compared to these statistics, the Kitvans' 61gms of sugar/day is less than a 1/3rd.

i'm a little confused by what you're saying FED. I was going by this http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2647706 , which cites "mean fructose content of the American diet is 9%, with the upper range approaching 15 to 20%"

Yea, I would say if there was anyone, it would be in the South Pacific. Here in Africa, much fruit grows, but it is generally viewed as food for children or "snack" food. Something you might eat a piece of if it presented itself to you, but you wouldn't go out of your way to find it/buy it. But I have seen people (young adult men) buy and eat an entire bunch of bananas in one sitting.

Jared Diamond studied several Polynesian cultures and found that they had very high incidence of tooth decay (often considered a proxy for overall health), and also ate a lot of fruit and generally a high-carb, low-protein and low-fat diet.

@ULH, I read that Jared Diamond discovered the people on Easter island had a lot of tooth decay because they lacked fresh water and had to rely mostly on sugarcane juice for hydration... Compared to other Polynesian islands their animal intake was low because Easter island lacks coral reefs and lagoons. So low animal nutrients and high frequency sugar intake most likely led to increased cavities for Easter Island. Any other Polynesian cultures you know of that have high incidence of tooth decay?